Drawer slide bearing retainer and guide block

Abstract

An improved bearing retainer and a guide block for use with drawer slides having multiple slide members. The bearing retainer comprises a connecting member and upper and lower flanges, with apertures to house bearings, extending from the top and bottom of the connecting member. Extending from the middle portion of the connecting member is an extending member with a protrusion therein. In the alternative runners connecting the upper and lower flanges to the connecting member, have protrusions therein. The protrusion or protrusions lodges into a recess or recesses in a guide block attached to an intermediate or outer slide member as the bearing retainer approaches the guide block during the disconnect activity. The guide block comprises of stops to halt movement of the bearing retainer towards the guide block and to guide an inner slide member to engage the bearing retainer. Extending from the middle portion of the guide block is a capture member which contains the recess adapted to loosely receive the protrusion on the bearing retainer. In the alternative, receivers between the capture member and the stops of the guide block, contain recesses adapted to loosely receive the protrusions on the runners of the bearing retainer.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A drawer slide comprising: 
       an inner slide member;  
       an outer slide member sidably connected to the inner slide member by a plurality of bearings so as to allow the inner slide member to longitudinally extend from the outer slide member;  
       a bearing retainer disposed between the inner slide member and the outer slide member, the bearing retainer having apertures holding the bearings in spaced relative position to one another, the bearing retainer including a protrusion;  
       a guide block affixed to the outer slide member, the block having a recess adapted to receive the protrusion when the inner slide member is longitudinally withdrawn from the outer slide members;  
       wherein the recess in the guide block comprises:  
       a front face edge adjacent to a front flat surface of the guide block which extends along the guide block and penetrates into the guide block in a latitudinal direction;  
       a rear face surface, farther from the front flat surface of the guide block than the front face edge, which extends along the guide block and penetrates into the guide block in the same direction as the front face edge;  
       upper and lower edges perpendicular to and connecting upper and lower margins of front face edge to upper and lower margins of the rear face surface, respectively, the upper and lower edge penetrating into the guide block in the same direction as the front face edge.  
     
     
       2. The drawer slide of claim  1  wherein the protrusion and the recess are each of a size and shape such that the protrusion does not contact the block when the recess receives the protrusion. 
     
     
       3. A drawer slide comprising: 
       an inner slide member having an inner member vertical web and upper and lower arms forming upper and lower vertically outward facing bearing raceways extending generally horizontally from the upper and lower margins, respectively, of the inner member vertical web;  
       an outer slide member having an outer member vertical web and upper and lower arms forming upper and lower vertically inward facing bearing raceways extending generally horizontally from the upper and lower margins, respectively, of the outer member vertical web;  
       a plurality of upper bearings in rolling engagement with the upper vertically inward facing and upper vertically outward facing bearing raceways;  
       a plurality of lower bearings in rolling engagement with the lower vertically inward facing and lower vertically outward facing bearing raceways;  
       a bearing retainer having an upper flange, a lower flange, and a connecting member connecting the upper flange and the lower flange, with the upper bearings disposed in apertures in the upper flange and the lower bearings disposed in apertures in the lower flange, and a protrusion extending from the connecting member; and  
       a guide block affixed to the outer member vertical web of the outer slide member, the guide block including a recess adapted to receive the protrusion in loose fitting engagements;  
       wherein the recess in the guide block comprises:  
       a front face edge aproximate a front surface of the guide block vertically extending along the guide block and horizontally penetrating into the guide block in a horizontally opposite direction of the horizontal arms of the outer slide member;  
       a rear face surface spaced behind the front face edge and extending vertically along the guide block and horizontally penetrating into the guide block in the same direction as the front face edge;  
       upper and lower edges perpendicular to and connecting the upper and lower margins of front face edge to the upper and lower margins of the rear face surface, respectively, horizontally penetrating in the same direction as the front face edge.  
     
     
       4. A drawer slide comprising: 
       an inner slide member having an inner member vertical web and upper and lower arms forming upper and lower vertically outward facing inner slide bearing raceways extending generally horizontally from the upper and lower margins, respectively, of the inner member vertical web;  
       an outer slide member having an outer member vertical web and upper and lower arms extending generally horizontally from the upper and lower margins of the outer member vertical web;  
       an intermediate slide member having an intermediate member vertical web and upper and lower arms extending generally horizontally from the upper and lower margins, respectively, of the intermediate member vertical web, the upper arm forming an upper vertically outward facing bearing raceway and upper vertically inward facing bearing raceway, and the lower arm forming a lower vertically outward facing bearing raceway and lower vertically inward facing bearing raceway;  
       a plurality of upper and lower outer bearings in rolling engagement, respectively, with the upper and lower bearing raceways of the outer slide member and the upper and lower vertically outward facing outer bearing raceways of the intermediate slide member;  
       a plurality of upper and lower inner bearings in rolling engagement, respectively, with the upper and lower vertically outwardly facing inner bearing raceways of the inner slide the upper and lower vertically inwardly facing inner bearing raceways of the intermediate slide member;  
       a bearing retainer having an upper flange, a lower flange, and a connecting member connecting the upper flange and the lower flange, the connecting member having at least a portion forming a vertical web, with the upper inner bearings disposed in apertures in the upper flange and the lower inner bearings disposed in apertures in the lower flange;  
       a protrusion horizontally extending from the vertical web of the bearing retainer; and  
       a guide block affixed to the vertical web of the intermediate slide member, the guide block including a recess adapted to receive the protrusion in loose fitting engagement;  
       wherein the recess in the guide block comprises:  
       front face edge furthest from the end of the intermediate slide member adjacent to a front flat surface of the guide block vertically extends along the guide block and horizontally Penetrates into the guide block in a horizontally opposite direction of the horizontal arms of the intermediate slide member;  
       a rear face surface closest to the end of the intermediate slide member, spaced behind the front face edge, extends vertically along the guide block and horizontally penetrates into the guide block in the same direction and distance as the front face edge;  
       upper and lower edges perpendicular to and connecting the upper and lower margins of front face edge to the upper and lower margins of the rear face surface, respectively, horizontally penetrating in the same direction and distance as the front face edge.